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We are so excited for Guadalupe condos to be nearing completion. Things are getting ready for our big open house this Saturday (Sept 02). If you should swing by and check it out from 11-2. I am really excited to hear feedback.

In case you aren't going to make it, here are a few images of what is in store.

I have wrote about it before, but I will reiterate, one of my favorite things about being an architect is seeing (or creating) multiple solutions to a given set of constraints. I recently spent a little time working on a little rowhouse project. It was interesting that the first floor of the project has one solution that works decidedly better than anything else I tried.

But the upstairs... There have been so many potential different layouts. This post is going to go over the process we have went through. I would love to hear you thoughts in the comments below.

This is the first option. We started this project thinking that we wanted two bedrooms on this level. This is plan is the first stab. One nice thing about this plan is that there are virtually no hallways on the upper level. The bedrooms are a great size, but there are some issues. Chief among them is that there is not a second bathroom on this level.

Here is the second iteration. After looking at the plan above we thought it might be possible to add a third bedroom. Again the Master bedroom is on the east side because that is the direction of the best views. The stairs on this option are adjust to the best place on the lower level. One of the issues with this option is that the two bedrooms are too small.

So we decided that it might work well to flip the master bedroom to the other side of the plan. That would give the two bedrooms enough width. We feel this option was working pretty good. All of the boxes are checked. We squeezed in three good sized bedrooms, two baths, a laundry, a fair amount of storage and the laudry.

After this option was done we thought it might be time to take a rest. Then we got an message from our client that said it might be interesting to see if we could do an option with two master suites. Heck yeah it would. And that would probably be a better fit for the target audience.

We think this plan is looking pretty hot (said with a Paris Hilton emphasis (does any even remember who that is?)). We are back to the two bedroom, but are thinking that this layout will appeal to the folks who are looking for some sweet downtown living. I think by the time we are finished these two on-suite bedrooms will really ooze luxury.

What are you thoughts?

Howdy, It has been a while since we published a post around here, but it is time once again for an #Architalks blog post. For those of you who don’t already know, Architalks is a monthly (I sometimes miss a month or two) coordinated blog post. A fair amount of Architectural type people from around the globe write on the same topic at the same time. This month's topic is “mentorship”. Take a look at the end of the post for links to a lot of other really great thoughts on what mentorship means to architects.

First, I want to give a little bit of background for anyone who doesn’t know the full bureaucracy that needs to be penetrated to become a licensed architect. After going to college for some number of years, (for me it was some number plus a few) would be architects then go get a job in a firm where they begin to learn a lot more about what architects do day to day. Here is a little hint, there is a lot paperwork. In this time after college and before getting licensed dutiful candidates are highly encouraged to get a “mentor”. Having never been one for formality (and I thought it would be a strange conversation) I never walked up to a person and said

“Will you be my mentor?”

Maybe I missed out on something by not creating this more formal arrangement, but until I talk to the me in an almost parallel universe that did ask for a mentor I will never know.

All of that said, I have had, and still have, many folks who teach me about what it means to be a good architect and a good human, at least for now I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. I started to write a list of different folks who have taught me valuable lessons, but the list was getting too long and I am sure I was forgetting people. So I will just say that there have been many who have taught me about how buildings are built, how to make sure that the architect and contractor are on the same team, and how sometimes you have to swallow your pride and admit that you have made a mistake and start figuring out how to resolve it.

Now a days I am making my way as a sole practitioner with a home office, but most of my life in architecture has been in pretty decent sized firms. Now some days the SOLE is more solitary than others. In getting mentally prepped to write this post I have been reminded how I miss those informal mentor relationships. There isn’t someone I can turn around to and discuss the intricacies of a particular flashing detail. My family loves me, but they REALLY hate discussing the building code. In fact, most of the time their eyes glaze over and I don’t even think they are listening. But I also miss the other side of the coin. I enjoy teaching, not enough to try and be a professor or anything, but kinda the mentor type of teaching. In the last firm I worked I had become someone who could be asked regarding software questions, and I normally had an answer. It was nice to help.

After searching and thinking about mentorship for this topic I have determined that in my current stage I need to make a lot more active effort to put myself in a position to be a mentor and to be mentored. I don't know exactly how that will play out (probably not asking "won't you be my mentor"), but I know that it is my responsibility to make sure that I won't be a lonely mentor.

Today's post is about another of our Get Space projects. This project had a unique site that presented a number of challenges. It also had to apply for a conditional use permit, which means we had to put together a presentation for the city.

We thought we would share that presentation to give a little insight into our process and show that while this building might look fancy for a storage project, it is really just a rational response to the site conditions and branding efforts of the project. We hope you enjoy.

So here at di'velept we get to work with working with the best self storage developers in the world, Get Space.

Often when I first tell people that I am an architect on self storage I can see that look in their face. "self storage huh?" But what ever image you have in your head of what self storage looks like, get rid of it. All of these projects are multi-floor buildings that are designed to be the coolest projects on the block.

Our most recent project to be designed and turned into the city is P82. After the drawings were finished and sleep was caught up on it was time to do a couple of quick renderings to give an idea of what this project is going to look like. After seeing these renderings we are even more excited.

Things are going really well at our Guadalupe Project. The sheetrock is hung (by the window with care) and there is great progress on the exterior materials. Check out this video for a little walkthrough. If you are interested in a tour let me know.

It is time for another #archispeaks blog post. This month’s topic, House or Home, was selected by Keith Palma at Cogitate Design. There are a bunch of different architects that have written a little post about this same topic. Check out the links at the bottom of the page to read some different perspectives.

My immediate reaction when I saw this topic was, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This might be due to the fact that the first flowers of spring have just arrived in my yard and I have had pollen on my nose for a couple of days. But it also might be because, as I have mentioned before on this blog, di’velept is rooted in a rural upbringing, and this topic just seems like semantics. It doesn't matter to us whether you call it a house, a home, a residence, a pad, or a crib; as long as you are comfortable.

BUT…

Finding YOUR way to be comfortable is often much harder than it first appears. With all of the different home renovation shows and the constant barrage of commercials showing the next cool thing it seems like it should be simple to create a dream home. But as we all know there is not much reality in reality TV. Your search for a comfortable place to hang your hat will most likely be more drawn out and messy. As a general rule it is going to take a couple of months from our first hello until we have went through all of the different potential designs to find a final configuration that really is your perfect fit. But it is a journey that is worth taking. Living in a space that is configured to your styles and way of thinking about the world will affect your outlook on life.

Perhaps it is the beautiful spring weather or maybe it is the change to daylight savings, but it seem that time for this post has run out, so this post is going to be really short and sweet.

Hopefully you have a minute to check out some of the contributors below.